Thankyou for the music!

closes tonight when time is called at the Melborn Hotel for the last time.

Eamon Halloran and his wife Anita will pull their last pints at the famous pub in White Abbey Road.

And yesterday some of the venue's most loyal musicians and customers came together to toast what has become one of the city's institutions.

The Melborn's final informal musical session began at 1pm and lasted well into the evening.

Guitarists, singers and accordion players struck a note to give the place a stylish send-off.

And even Mr Halloran picked up his guitar to join the chorus.

Singer-songwriter Norman Wylie travelled from County Mayo in Ireland to bid his farewell.

Mr Wylie discovered the pub through fellow Irishman Mr Halloran.

He said: "People say in Ireland there's a friendly welcome. But when I got up here in the room and I did two songs I was taken aback by the welcome.

"I was on the stage and I was hit by a wave of warmth and friendship. That's why I'm here today."

Student James Waterhouse, 19, came from Undercliffe to perform.

His memories stem from when his father, a Melborn regular, took ten-year-old James there.

Maths and physics undergraduate James, who plays guitar and sings in a band, said numerous hours spent in the pub had sparked his musical career.

"They gave us the opportunity to play, and that's where we started. They gave us a bit of ambition," he said.

Regular customer John Elliott, 63, had no time for the music. But he was very happy visiting the tap room.

Mr Elliott is one of the pub's longest standing regulars, he has visited the Melborn twice a day seven days a week for more than 40 years.

"I used to come here when I was 17," he said. "I have seen more landlords come and go than I have had cups of tea.

"It's a friendly place, I used to have some right good times in this room."

The Melbourne, as it was first called, opened in 1935 to serve pints to the residents and mill workers of the White Abbey Road area. It became known for its colourful tiled exterior and warm and welcoming atmosphere.

But it wasn't until Mr Halloran took over the pub in 1983 and renamed it the Melborn that Bradford's music scene added another venue to the list.

After two long stints behind the bar at the Melborn, the first for three years in the 1980s and the second starting in the 1990s, Mr Halloran put the pub on the map for serving up excellent ales and live music. But it is all set to change.

Mr Halloran said he believed the new owners were intending to convert the pub into a shop.

He said his decision to sell had caused sadness for himself and the musicians who played regularly at the venue.

"People are very sad and I am completely broken up. But if I leave it any later I think it would be too late," he said. "It's the right time, it had been getting a bit quiet."

Mr Halloran said he was looking forward to his new life of leisure.

He said: "I'm definitely having a gap year. Through 45 years of working I have not had much time off."

And he said he would be staying in the area after leaving the pub.

"What can I say? I love the people of Bradford, they are great people. I'm staying in beautiful Yorkshire," he said.

Tonight drinkers and musicians will say farewell listening to the strains of rock 'n' roll band Last Orders, followed by an acoustic session.